Formation of NH3 and N2O in a modern natural gas three-way catalyst designed for heavy-duty vehicles: the effects of simulated exhaust gas composition and ageing

An increasing number of heavy-duty vehicles are using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel due to the expanding refuelling station network for LNG and lower overall emissions compared to diesel vehicles. The latest EURO VI regulation or natural gas fuelled vehicles set a limit for NH3 of 10 ppm, and N2O exhaust is expected to be restricted in Europe in the near future. Poisonous and corrosive NH3 and the greenhouse gas N2O are formed as by-products in a three-way catalyst used to minimize the emissions of stoichiometric heavy-duty engines. In this work, we studied how high temperature NH3 and N2O formed in modern, fresh and aged bimetallic Pd/Rh three-way catalysts in simulated exhaust gas. More precisely, the exhaust gas composition and temperature were examined. Decreases in NO concentration and increases in temperature lowered the formation of NH3 and N2O, whereas a decrease in CH4 concentration reduced only NH3 formation. According to Raman and powder X-ray diffraction experiments, the structure of the catalyst changed during the ageing, and this reputedly affected the function of cerium-zirconium mixed oxides and thus the formation of NH3 and N2O. Temperature programmed reduction (H-2-TPR) measurements showed changes in cerium-zirconium mixed oxide performance after ageing supporting Raman spectroscopy findings. Catalyst ageing in oxidizing conditions increased the formation of N2O. This study showed that exhaust gas composition plays an important role in the formation of undesired NH3 and N2O emissions.